fnGlobal Keynote & Roundtables with Patrick Dennis (June 10, 2025)

With over 30 years of leadership experience, Patrick Dennis, CEO of Avaya, will share invaluable insights for tech founders navigating the complexities of leadership transitions and business scaling. Drawing on his extensive track record, including his transformative role at Venafi, where he led the company through a $1.5B acquisition by CyberArk, as well as his tenure at ExtraHop and Aspect Communications (now Alvaria), Patrick will explore a critical question for many founders: when is it time to replace yourself as CEO?

Patrick will explore how to recognize success-based problems as signals of growth and discuss how to address personal gaps without viewing them as failures. He’ll provide practical strategies for balancing the founder’s creative vision with the operational expertise needed for scaling, and emphasize the mindset shift required to pivot from day-to-day management to high-level strategic leadership.

In addition, Patrick will share insights on the current dynamics of the startup ecosystem. He’ll focus on the increasing need for cash preservation in today’s market, particularly as capital becomes more expensive, and explore the necessary strategic adjustments for companies with fewer than 100 employees. He will also discuss how AI advancements—especially in voice interfaces and communications—are opening new doors in previously untapped markets, presenting opportunities that could significantly expand the software economy.

Don’t miss this opportunity to hear from a seasoned CEO and gain actionable insights that can elevate both your leadership and your business. Join us and discover strategies to take your company to the next level!

Opening Remarks @ 9:30am PT

​Join us for opening remarks with Dina Wagner, Head of Member Success at Founders Network, to get the latest updates from the Network and opportunities for getting involved.

Keynote Speaker @ 9:40am PT

Patrick Dennis is the CEO of Avaya, a global leader in enterprise communications. With over three decades of experience in enterprise software, SaaS, cybersecurity, and communications, Patrick has held transformative leadership roles, including CEO of Venafi, where he drove the company’s sale to CyberArk for $1.5B. Previously, he served as CEO at ExtraHop, Aspect Communications (now Alvaria), and Guidance Software. Patrick has also held senior roles at EMC and Oracle. His leadership has been instrumental in driving innovation and growth at every company he’s led. He holds a B.S. in Information Technology from the Rochester Institute of Technology and is an active contributor to the Forbes Technology Council.

Stage-Based Roundtables @ 10:30am PT

Community Partners:

Jeff Erickson

Jeff leads the Partnerships Team at Forecastr — a leading FP&A software company that helps startups create kick-butt financial models to impress investors, confidently raise capital, and effectively run their businesses better.

Jeff serves on the advisory boards of several startup companies and is an active angel investor. He's passionate about startups and enjoys working with founders and mentoring entrepreneurs.

Jeff is an experienced entrepreneur and was the founder and CEO of a successful consumer goods company that he rapidly grew from $1M in sales its first year to over $40M in annual revenue in its fourth year of operations and was ranked #138 on the Inc. 500 list of fastest growing companies.

Prior to founding his own company, Jeff was a partner at Beanstalk Partners where he led the sales and business development activities. He also served as the National Sales Director for a venture-backed tech startup where he generated over $45M in client contracts and developed the company’s channel partner program.

Jeff has a degree in accounting and graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Utah. After receiving his MBA in Finance from the University of Utah he served as the Vice President of Investments for Sentry Financial Corporation.

Blake Caldwell

Blake Caldwell is the CEO & Founder of FoundersBoost. He has 350 alumni, 100 new startups a year, 8k newsletter readers. He's driven by his passions to create and build community. He's also the founder of 2332 Collective (music production & festivals with the goal of bringing music to West LA) & The MoGuard (consumer product cup attachment protecting glorious mustaches).

FoundersBoost is a free pre-seed & seed stage mentorship driven pre-accelerator helping promising tech-startups with accelerators, investment, and revenue.

Guests Are Welcome!

Please bring a guest! Every member can bring one (1) guest to each event. Each guest must be a full-time tech startup founder so they can bring new perspectives, skillsets, and experience to your chapter.

All guests must be full-time tech startup founders and you can register them directly on this function page. See How to Register a Guest here.

Confidentiality Policy:

All information shared within Founders Network is strictly confidential. We are built on a foundation of trust, and the community takes confidentiality seriously. Investors, members, and staff all share experiences and opinions off the record. In this roundtable forum, we continue to model our fnValues of Reciprocity, Humility, Authenticity and Inclusivity.